Old Beginnings and New endings
by lisa-mysecret
Summary: This story is set straight after The Fast and The Furious 1, it has some unexpected twists with action, racing and a bit of romance! Updated!
1. Intro's and meetings

This occurs 1 month after the first movie. Brian is has not talked to the team since the end of the first movie. Jesse is still in hospital. The rest of the Toretto team have just arrived back from a months stay in Mexico. Vince is just out of hospital, and still injured making him unable to drive. Letty and Dom are still together.  
  
Chapter1; 3rd person narrative  
  
"Letty! Mia! Will the both of you get a fucking move on!" Dominic Toretto hollered from the bottom of the stairs. "The race is tonight, not fucking next week!" The girls were really testing his patience.  
  
Just then two sets of feet appeared at the top of the stairs. "Hold you hair on Dom. Oh wait you ain't got any." Said Letty from the top of the stairs. Both girls burst into fits of laughter as they headed down the stairs, Leon and Vince both smirked as they headed out the door.  
  
"Ha Ha very funny, just move" replied Dom, he glanced at Letty. She looked hot, she had on a tight top coming to the top of her stomach, a black skirt showing off much of her thighs and a pair of plat formed ankle boots. Dom gave a playful grab at her ass as he followed her out the door.  
  
They were driving in just 3 cars tonight. Dom drove an orange Toyota Supra, technically it wasn't his but as soon as the team got the garage up and running he was planning to build himself a new car. Leon and Vince drove in Leon's yellow Nissan skyline, Vince couldn't drive since the gunshot wound he had received a month ago was still affecting him. In the third car were Letty and Mia driving Letty's purple 240sx.  
  
Two were missing, Jesse who was still in hospital recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest and Brian. Dom hoped Jesse would soon be well enough to join them again, he missed having the Einstein around, Jesse had been on the verge of death and in intensive care for two weeks but was strong enough to pull through. Brian on the other hand was another matter, true Dom missed him no matter what he said to the team but he didn't want him back. He missed Brian Spilner, his racing buddy and member of team Toretto but not Brian O'Connor the cop who went undercover into his home in order to put Dom's ass in jail. But tonight none of that mattered, all that mattered to Dom was the race. It was the teams first race night since they got back from Mexico and they needed to make a good impression.  
  
The three cars pulled up between two warehouses, they aligned themselves against numerous other cars already waiting. Dom stepped out of his car first, the others followed. People glanced round to see the muscular guy now leaning against his car bonnet.  
  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Dominic Toretto," shouted a short Mexican looking guy. The crowd of people all quietened. He walked towards Dom, "What's up my brotha?", the short guy embraced Dom in a manly hug.  
  
"Hey Hector," Dom replied, "Heard there was a race on tonight," he said with a grin.  
  
"You bet there is, you in?" asked Hector.  
  
"Yeah, I think I'm in the mood to beat the shit out off some racers tonight!" joked Dom.  
  
"That's if you've still got it!" Hector shouted back to him, the atmosphere thickened slightly.  
  
"Brotha, ders some things you just can't change, I mean I see you've still got your shortness, and as long as you've got that I still rule at racing" Dom argued back with a smile. The crowd jeered and the atmosphere relaxed. The crowd parted back to their cars and individual conversations.  
  
"So Dom, where you been? Last I heard was that that arsehole Brian was a undercover cop and that Jesse was shot by Tran," reported Hector.  
  
"Ah dawg its too long a story, lets just say the team had to take a break to Mexico for a short while, Jesse's ok he'll be out of hospital soon and as for that scum Brian he's history," declared Dom, "Anyways lets get a look at some of these cars.  
  
Vince and Leon mingled with some of the racers, while Mia held Letty back from thumping some of the racer chasing girls eying up Dom. Dom checked out some of the engines of the other racers, admiring the effort they had put in even though he knew they stood no chance against him. The time passed until Hector boomed out "Lets RACE!!!!". 


	2. Who The Fuck Are You!

Chapter 2. "Who The Fuck Are You!"  
  
Everybody headed back towards their cars, girls attempted to hitch rides off of guys with the cutest cars. Dom and his team headed off at the same time keeping together, they followed Hectors green civic to the main road. Much of the road was already blocked off, cars parked at the top of streets stopping any on coming traffic and layed a track for Dom and the other 3 racers who were parked at the freshly painted start line.  
  
Letty walked towards Dom's car she leaned down, "How much you put on?" She asked. "4 g's" answered Dom.  
  
"That it? You know your going to win, why not put on a little bit more?" she questioned.  
  
"Its enough Letty, anyways who says i'm going to win for sure?" Dom answered in a serious tone.  
  
"I do," and with that Letty walked away. Dom took a glance at her arse, he knew she was walking extra slowly in order to psyche him up, and it was working. Dom switched on his boom box all he needed know was the all clear from Leon who was back at his own car listening in on police radio signals. Dom glanced up, there were a lot of people here tonight, he was determined to fully win back his rep of Torretto "king" of street racing. Dominic smiled to himself as he pictured himself wearing a crown.  
  
Just then something caught his eye he glanced up, coming towards him on the cleared road were 3 black Mazda R-8's, with tinted black windows. "What the fuck!" Dom shouted aloud. The three cars drew closer, the crowd drew to a silence. They stopped meters in front of the start line facing the racers in perfect alignment. The tinted windows made it impossible for Dominic to tell who was driving. Mia and Letty watching from the crowd glanced at Dom to see his reaction. Dom switched off his music and stepped out of the car slamming shut the door, he looked furious. He walked towards the cars, Hector and a few others walked in close pursuit.  
  
Suddenly the doors to all three cars opened at the same time, from the car on the left and right out stepped 6 men, all wearing crisp black suits, with black shirts and shoes. From the centre car two people stepped out, a tall tanned man and a young girl. The man like the other men wore black suits but wore a white shirt, the young girl on the other hand wore all white. She wore white leather trousers and a white jacket, she looked no older than 18 if that.  
  
"Good evening Mr Torretto," said the man in the white shirt.  
  
"How the hell do you know my name?" asked Dom angrily.  
  
"Well doesn't everybody know the famous Dominic Torretto," the man replied with a hint of sarcasm.  
  
"Who the FUCK are you?" shouted Dom; there was no need for niceties here.  
  
"You need not know who I am Mr Torretto, but my name is Ray Hoddle. I am here tonight to enter a racer into this race" replied the man calmly.  
  
Dom was losing his temper and fast, he could not believe this moron, "What the fuck makes you think I am going to let you race!?!" shouted Dom.  
  
"I trust this will" he held up a packet "in here is 20 g's, if you let my racer race and you win you can keep this money, if you lose we get the standard 4g's from each of you".  
  
Dom wanted to walk over and smash his face in right now but he restrained himself. 20g was a lot of money, money he could do with. It wasn't like this moron was going to beat him, so he could have the satisfaction of beating him and taking his money to wash that smug smile of the flashy git. "Fine, Hector get the money off him. One racer, one race. Now move your fucking cars out of the fucking way!". The guy in the white shirt looked angry at being ordered about but he followed them anyways. The man walked up to the young girl and said something to her. She clambered into the middle vehicle; the other men got into the remaining two cars and drove to the finish line. The girl pulled up beside him.  
  
"What? No way." Dominic thought, "I'm not racing the girl". Not that he had anything against girls racing, he knew Letty was a lot better racer than most men, but this girl was so young. He glanced at the other racers, by the look on their faces they seemed to be thinking the same thing. "What the heck" thought Dom, "Its her choice". He glanced over at Mia who shot him a concerned look, Dom shrugged in return. He glanced back at the girl now parked on his right, her window was wound down, she was glaring forward, her brown hair bobbing on her shoulders. She was extremely pale and looked nervous, her hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Who the fuck are these people, and how do they know my name?" Dom questioned himself, he shock off the nervous feeling they were cops- they were far too flashy for that.  
  
Leon's voice blared from the walkie-talkie in Dom's car, "Dom, there's a riot at the Eros nightclub, all officers are being called to deal with it, we're all clear!". Dom took one last glance at the girl before shouting to hector "WE'RE GOOD TO GO!". Hector nodded in response, "Racers, start up your engines!" he shouted. Blue flames burst all the exhaust pipes, the drivers revved up their cars. The crowd quietened.  
  
Hector stood at the sideline with a flag, he mimed the words three two one and then dropped the flag.  
  
-------Okay ppl this is my first story so please read and review!!---------- ------------ 


	3. The Race!

Chapter 3 ; The Race  
  
All five drivers slammed there feet down on the accelerator and took off. Dom sped straight into the lead but not by much, he was quickly into 4th gear. The two racers on his far left moved further and further behind, they were no match for Dom, all they could worry about now was not coming last. The third racer on his left was in close pursuit, the racer was driving a green Civic much like Hectors. Dom glanced quickly to his right rear view mirror, the young girl in the black Mazda was at least a car space behind.  
  
The speed was exhilarating, buildings, cars and people all rushed into a large blur outside Dom's windows. For the first time in over a month Dom felt completely free, he had no thoughts or worries on anything but the race in front of him. He'd forgotten how much he missed racing, he wished he could feel like this all the time.  
  
The racers were coming to the first bend, Dom wasn't to worried it was more a curve then a bend. He took it with no sweat, so did the others. The guy in the Civic to his left was beginning to trail behind, Dom heard a screeching noise and the racer in the Civic shot forward becoming level with him. Dom guessed he had used a shot of NOS, "Too early.amateurs" Dom said aloud to himself.  
  
Coming up was another turn, this time it was a sharp turn, he lifted his foot off the accelerator slightly, he didn't need any more speed but instead needed to keep it constant. The guy next to him on the other hand kept speeding up, he pulled out in front of Dom. A large smile grew across his face "I'm going to beat Dom Toretto!" he thought.  
  
"What an arsehole! Don't he realise there's a curve coming up! He's gonna crash and fucking kill us all!" Dom mumbled angrily. The bend came closer; the green civic driver took it first- he spun straight out of control. Dom braced himself as he took the turn, he pulled the steering wheel right, the green Civic flew sideways across the road straight at him, missing Dom's car by a matter of inches. It carried on spinning straight into two parked cars.  
  
Dom came out of the turn and focused on the road ahead, it was just one straight road to the finish line. Suddenly a black Mazda appeared from nowhere on his right. "Wow!" Dom thought, "That was one sharp turn". The Mazda had come out of the turn neck and neck with him. Dom slammed down on his accelerator. He glanced upwards- timing was everything, it all depended on whether he hit the NOS button on time, a second too soon or late could cost him the race.  
  
The two cars ploughed on neck and neck, Letty and Mia watched anxiously from the sideline, Mia gripped Letty's arm tightly, both held their breath. Leon and Vince watched from the car, both had their eyes wide open not daring to blink. Dom hovered his fingered over the NOS button, then braced himself yet again "Three, two, one", he pushed his finger down, and his car zoomed forward with a mighty force, "Good" Dom declared, "exactly the right time".  
  
He glanced to his right expecting to see the Mazda trailing behind, he was shocked to see her still neck and neck with him, "Damn, she must of hit the button at the same fuckin' time!". Letty and Mia both glared at Dom's car as it sped towards the finish line, "oh, its gonna be close, I cant watch!" Mia closed here eyes tight, Letty took in a deep breath as Dom's car and the black Mazda raced over the finish line.  
  
------Hey ppl sorry this is kind of short but the next chapter is a lot longer. It's not going to be a draw if you're wondering! Thanks Jfurman88 for the review, it means a lot, (and the team will go to visit Jesse ;-)) .- ------- 


	4. The Winner?

CHAPTER 4 ; The Winner?  
  
Mia pressed open her eyes, Letty breathed again. "Well, who won?" Mia asked Letty.  
  
"I'm not sure, it was close, real close. God I hope Dom won," Letty glanced at Mia and saw the nervous look in her eyes, "What the hell am I saying I'm sure he did."  
  
"Don't lie Letty, come on Hector will tell us" said Mia. Both girls walked towards Hector.  
  
Dom's head dropped down onto the steering wheel. He didn't know whether he had won or not. Dom had never lost a race before, he really didn't want this to be his first especially not against a girl as young as her. He glanced towards the black Mazda, her window was still wound down, and her blue eyes were staring at him. She looked purely petrified, in a way Dom felt sorry for her, but it didn't make a difference he still wanted to win. He had to win.  
  
Dom looked around, the crowd seemed as unsure about who had won the race as he did. He looked over at Leon's car, he could see Vince in the passenger seat. Vince saw Dom and gave him a shrug. "Doesn't anyone know who won?" Dom asked himself. But of course Hector would. Dom looked over at Hector, he was talking to some other people discussing who had won the race.  
  
"Okay people, shut up for a sec!" Shouted Hector, "We're all agreed that was one close race! And there weren't much between either car. But all of us have agreed," he indicated to the people around him, "that there was one winner. And that was," All of the Toretto team took a deep breath, "Dom." The team all let out a sigh of relief; Letty let out a shout and punched her arm into the air.  
  
"WHAT! No it wasn't! She won by over an inch!" The guy in the white shirt entered the conversation, "This is a fucking set-up, if she'd won by a mile, you'd still say that scum won!"  
  
"Listen brotha, we all agreed.." started Hector but Dom cut him short.  
  
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL ME!" that was it Dom had lost his temper now, he stormed out of his car and slammed shut the door.  
  
"Scum, arsehole." Replied the guy.  
  
Dom leapt toward the guy he pulled back his arm and swung straight for the guys face. Leon, Letty and Vince ran towards them and so did the other six guys in black suits. "Dom! No! Stop it please!" shouted Mia. Dom managed to swing two good punches at the guy before something hard hit him around the back of the head and he fell to the floor. He turned to see Leon being thrown across the bonnet of a car, and Vince being punched in the ribs, normally Vince would've been able to put up a good fight but in his present condition he keeled over onto the floor. The guy in the white shirt bent down to Dom, his nose bleeding.  
  
"I'm sure we'll meet again Mr Toretto, but until then here," he threw the packet containing the money at his face, "I believe this is yours." The man got up and walked to the car were the girl was still sitting. Ray paused and turned back, "By the way, don't ever think of messing with me Mr Toretto, you can't win." Ray opened the door to the black Mazda.  
  
"Ray, I'm sorry, I tried, I really did, please." the young girl mumbled to Ray. He grabbed the girl by the shoulders and thrust her to the passenger seat. She whimpered.  
  
"I'll deal with you later." Ray said, he sat into the black Mazda, wound up the window and started the engine. The three black Mazda's took off down the road.  
  
"What the fuck was all that about!" shouted Hector.  
  
"I aint a clue, but I know I made a sweet 32g's out of tonight's race!" Dom joked from the floor. He wasn't really in a laughing mood, he had just been humiliated in front of a crowd of people and was lying on the floor on his back. But he wanted to show everyone that he wasn't beaten, he had still won the race. Letty walked over and grabbed Dom's hand and pulled him into her arms. He leaned towards her mouth.  
  
"Not know Dom, it can wait till tonight, I've got a special back-rub to give you." She whispered with a smile into his ear.  
  
Mia couldn't watch, she couldn't watch two people make out in front of her, the wounds were too fresh. She missed Brian so much, she missed his smile, she missed his cheeky attitude, she missed rubbing her hands through his hair, and she missed his eyes. Vince glanced at Mia and guessed what she was thinking.  
  
"Come on Mia, lets go and check on Leon, I think he took a bad fall and you know Leon he's probably feeling sorry for himself and wanting some attention." Joked Vince.  
  
"I don't think we're quite the attention givers he wants, I'm guessing he's wanting more the female attention." Mia joked back.  
  
Mia and Vince walked over to Leon who was being nursed back to health by two racer chasers. Mia and Vince both laughed at each other. "What?" asked Leon innocently. Dom made his way over with Letty.  
  
"Leon you're meant to be listening to the radio." Dom indicated to the radios.  
  
"I'm going," replied Leon, he got off the bonnet he was leaning on and sat into his car.  
  
"Dom I'm worried about that girl, she looked really scared." Said Mia worriedly.  
  
"I know but there's nothing we can do," answered Dom, "Don't think about it Mia." He glanced around at his team; he felt the thick atmosphere between them. "So what shall we spend all this money on??" he added in a cheery voice.  
  
"No time to worry 'bout that now we got more pressing issues." Leon declared, "WE'VE GOT COPS, COPS, COPS!" He shouted into the megaphone.  
  
---Thanks for the reviews makes me feel better!! (A few more would b great though, I'm pleading!)--- 


	5. Hospital Visits

Chapter 5 : Hospital visits  
  
Brian O'Connor pulled up in a squad car outside the hospital. "I'm here on business," thought Brian, "and if I happen to see Jesse than its just coincidence. For fucks sake who am I trin' to kid? He questioned himself. He walked up to the main reception desk.  
  
"Hello, I'm officer Brian O'Connor and I'm here to see a young girl brought in last night, who looks as if she may have been beaten up." He told the receptionist, she typed some words in the computer.  
  
"Ah yes, she's in the triocare ward, it's on the 3rd floor." Answered the receptionist. "There's a set of lifts just down there." She indicated to the corridor behind him.  
  
"Thanks." Brian made his way to the lifts. He glanced at the chart showing the ward names, "I wonder what one Jesse is on." He thought to himself, "Stop it Brian, you're finished with them." A voice argued in his head. He sighed and made his way to the 3rd floor. The elevators opened onto a large ward, about 14 beds were aligned against the two walls opposite each other. Many of the occupants were sleeping. He glanced around and spotted a nurse. He walked towards her, his polished black shoes pounding off the floor.  
  
"Um excuse me," he said to the nurse. She turned around, she was stunning. She had shinny brown hair that fell past her shoulders and amazing eyes, eyes like Mia. "No Brian don't start this again, don't compare her to Mia, they aren't in your life anymore, she isn't in your life any more." He told himself sternly.  
  
"Yes? Can I help you officer?" said the nurse, the word officer brought Brian back to reality with a thud. "That's right Brian, you're an officer, and you have a job to do." Said the voice in his head.  
  
"Um, yeah, I'm looking for a young girl brought in last night, badly bruised?" replied Brian.  
  
"Yes end bed to the left, she looks as though she was battered by someone. I'm guessing by the extent of the bruising it was an adult, male probably. She doesn't seem to say much." The nurse answered with a concerned look.  
  
"I see and who brought her in?" he questioned her.  
  
"An ambulance, a woman found her down a side road." Said the woman with a flick of her hair.  
  
"Right, I may need to ask you some more questions later." Stated Brian.  
  
"That's fine with me, just ask for Tina at the desk." The nurse gave him a flirtatious smile.  
  
Brian walked over to the girl's bed, she was sitting up staring at the foot of her bed. The nurse was right she was badly battered, much of her face was bruised. Her brown hair tied back messily, she looked sad except for her eyes that were an innocent blue.  
  
"Hi", Brian said to the girl. She looked up but didn't reply. "You got a name?" he continued. Still no reply. "You wanna tell me how you got this bruises?" She leaned forward and grimaced in pain. Brian reached out and touched her shoulder, "try and make the victim feel comfortable with you, standard police training." thought Brian.  
  
"Don't touch me" mumbled the young girl softly. She pulled her shoulder out from under his arm.  
  
"Sorry." This girl had serious trust issues thought Brian.  
  
"I'm not a child, you don't need to be here." The girl said quietly, there was no anger in her voice more a pleading.  
  
"You're a child in the eyes of the law, and it's my duty to make sure your safe and protected." Brian said, "damn," he thought, he realised how stupid that must of sounded, like he'd had read it from a textbook and like he didn't really care.  
  
"Fuck the law" she said quietly and rolled over. Brian could tell this was going to be difficult.  
  
*  
  
"How's it goin' Jesse?" Jesse glanced up from the magazine he was reading, he saw Letty, Mia, Vince, Leon and Dom stroll into the ward.  
  
"I'm good." He called to them. Dom greeted him by ruffling up his hair, Leon, Vince and Letty gave him a knuckle hand greeting. Mia was last she looked as if she was about to burst into tears, she wrapped her arms him and grasped him tightly in a hug. "Owww, Mia your hurting me." mumbled Jesse, but Mia's emotion seemed to have gotten the better of her.  
  
"MIA!" shouted Dom, "Let him go, he can't breath!" Mia released him much to Jesse's relief. All the team laughed. "This is good, all the team back together again." Said Dom. The atmosphere thickened, they all realised this was not strictly true, Brian was missing. There was an awkward silence.  
  
"Guess what, I don't have to piss in a bag anymore, there letting me use the toilet know!" joked Jesse as an attempt to break the ice.  
  
"What a good little boy, allowed to use the big grown-up toilet all by himself!" Vince mocked, "Wow that nurse is hot! I'll be back in a minute." Vince walked over to the nurse standing at the desk and began chatting her up.  
  
"God he can't go two minutes! That's good news though Jesse soon you'll be able to come home soon," said Mia. Jesse smiled he couldn't wait to get home and be back with the team, and be able to start working on cars again.  
  
"So you go racing last night?" Jesse asked. Letty filled him in on the race, Dom stayed quiet he needed some thinking space.  
  
"Guys I'm going to get a soda." Dom headed out of the ward. He walked down the corridor. It was almost deserted except for the cop at the soda machine. Dom waited behind him, the cop was bent over and banging the machine- out popped a soda can. He stood up and turned around.  
  
"Dom." It was Brian.  
  
---------Thanks for the reviews people------------------ 


	6. Revelations

Chapter 6 ; Revelations  
  
"For fucks sake," mumbled Dom. He brushed passed Brian and began walking away.  
  
"No, Dom man, wait." Brian called to him. "Please," he added.  
  
Dom heard the pleading in Brian's voice. He stopped, but didn't turn around. "I have nothing to say to you." He said calmly trying not to loose his temper.  
  
"I'm sorry Dom, I was just doing my job, but it don't mean I don't give a shit about you lot because I do."  
  
Dom turned around and he marched towards Brian. He stuck his left hand around Brian's throat and slammed him up against the soda machine. He pulled his arm back and swung stopping just before his fist made contact with Brian's face, "Fuck you Brian, don't pretend you give a shit about us because that's all you are Brian your job."  
  
"That aint true Dom and you fucking know it aint." Brian said trying to keep his voice down.  
  
"All I know is that your scum Brian, look at you in standing there in your uniform, I let you came into my home man, and you betrayed us all." Dom warned. There was a pause.  
  
"Is she here?" asked Brian. Dom knew he meant Mia.  
  
"It don't matter, 'cause I don't want you to see her and she don't wanna see you," answered Dom, it was a lie but Brian didn't know that, and right now all Dom wanted to do was hurt Brian physically and mentally.  
  
"I'm still the same person Dom," said Brian quietly.  
  
"Yeah Brian, you're still a cop. Stay away from my family or I will hurt you." Dom warned, and he meant it. Dom turned back around and headed off down the corridor. Brian turned and kicked the drinks machine hard in frustration; out popped another soda.  
  
*  
  
Dom pulled up a chair and sat down by Jesse's bed next to Letty. He couldn't bring himself to tell them about his encounter with Brian, it was the last thing they needed. The only thing that had stopped Dom from thumping Brian was the fact that Brian had helped Dom out in the end, even if much was Brian's fault to begin with. He was also scared that if he started hitting Brian he may not be able to stop, there was so much anger that had built up in the past month inside him he was scared that the same thing that put him in jail would happen again. "Where'd Leon and Vince go?" asked Dom.  
  
"Vince had some stuff to do on his car, and Leon had to drive him. And me and Mia are gonna go shopping, there's a mall just down the road, we'll be back in an hour." Answered Letty.  
  
"Oh, I'll come with you." Dom told her, Letty started laughing.  
  
"Your jokin' right? You hate shopping, you'd just be moaning at me and Letty to hurry up. Nah, you stay here and keep Jesse company." Mia replied, her and Letty got up. Letty gave Dom a kiss on the head, and both of them left the ward. Dom glanced towards the window and focused on a spot. There was an awkward silence.  
  
"Dom, have you got a problem with me or something?" Jesse blurted out.  
  
"What? Course not." Dom answered shortly.  
  
"Really 'cause you wont look at me, and you've barely said two words to me since you got here." Jesse said frustrated at the way Dom was being with him. "Its 'cause you blame me init?"  
  
"What! No that aint it Jesse, its." Dom stopped he was crap at all this emotion shit. "If you must know I feel bad, alright? It's my fault you got shot and I'm feeling guilty. If it weren't for me getting you into all this shit you wouldn't have nearly died." Dom looked at him, Jesse was taken back he'd never heard Dom open up so much.  
  
"I don't blame you Dom, if it weren't for you I'd be nowhere.your all I got.you gave me a home man a real one.and you've given me so much other stuff and I'll never be able to repay you and.well.you get the picture." Jesse tried to explain, his eyes shooting all over the place. Dom laughed, Jesse found this talking shit as hard as he did, Jesse joined in the laughing. They both had a mutual understanding now that didn't need putting into words.  
  
*  
  
Brian sat back down on a chair beside the young girl's bed. She was reading a magazine. Brian glimpsed at it, it was a racing magazine. "So you into cars huh?" Brian said with a smile.  
  
She looked up at him and saw him smiling. "Maybe, you?" she said quietly.  
  
"Sure as hell I am. I had a Toyota Supra, it was fast- a ten second car, but then.well it's a long story." Brian pictured the scene that occurred a month ago, he'd handed the keys to his Toyota to Dom, so Dom could escape from the FBI. The FBI had a suspicion that Brian had aided Dom but they couldn't prove it, so he was able to keep his job as a cop. He looked at the girl, "You drive?"  
  
"I'm not old enough to have a licence, you should know that." She replied, but Brian knew she was lying, she was being sarcastic to him.  
  
"That doesn't mean you don't drive. I'm not gonna get you in trouble or anything, it's just between you and me," he told her.  
  
"In that case I drive Mazda R-8." She revealed to him smiling, she was still speaking in a low voice but Brian was just happy he'd got her talking to him.  
  
"A Mazda R-8 hey? That's an expensive car, someone must have paid a lot of money for it." He had tried to find out more about her, but Brian regretted it as he watched her clam up again. He decided there and then he wasn't going to push the girl for answers, but just wait until she felt ready to open up to him. "You know what, you need a name so that I have something to call you by instead of just "that girl" or "she". So how about you give me a name, any name. It don't have to be your real one just something I can call you by."  
  
"Charlotte." She answered, "But most just call me Lottie." Brian smiled, he had succeeded in beginning to gain her trust.  
  
--------So Dom hasn't hit Brian, yet. No cliffhangers in this chapter but i'm posting the next two chapters as well! This chapter has been ready for a while but I've had problems posting. I really want to thank you ppl for the reviews, I love getting them (hint hint) and there much appreciated, I'm also loving writing this story!--------------- 


	7. Jesse's task

Chapter 7 : Jesse's task.  
  
Dom banged on the door, "Mia will you open the fucking door!" he shouted.  
  
"I'm coming!" Dom heard her come down the stairs. "You know patience is a virtue Dom," she mumbled as she opened the door. She looked up and saw Dom supporting Jesse. "Jesse!" she squealed as she leaned forward and hugged him, "I'm so glad your home."  
  
"Yeah well Mia, let the kid get in the door." But Mia didn't listen she just fussed over Jesse like a mother did to her injured child.  
  
"Mia I'm fine really, otherwise the hospital wouldn't have let me home, they know their shit Mia." Jesse ushered her off him and shuffled into the house. He looked around, it still looked the same. He saw Vince and Leon lying on the floor battling each other on the playstation. Letty came in the back door. "Hey guys, guess who's back?" said an enthusiastic Jesse.  
  
Vince and Leon prised their eyes away from the screen. "Jesse, my man!" shouted Vince. Both men pushed themselves off the floor and made their way over to help Jesse to the sofa. Jesse heard. Letty rinsed her hands under the tap in the sink. She walked into the room, and saw Jesse sitting on the sofa. She smiled, "How ya doin' Jesse?"  
  
"I'm good Letty. What you do to your face?" He asked. Dom glanced over at Letty's face and saw a large bruise on her left cheek. She saw him looking.  
  
"It's nothing," she answered, Dom gave her a sceptical look, "really Dom it's nothing. I left a spanner on the bonnet and when I was going under it dropped off and hit me, that's all." Dom nodded, he wasn't sure whether she was telling the truth but didn't want to start an argument.  
  
"You should put some ice on it." Dom told her in his deep masculine voice.  
  
"Oh, cause I though you could." Letty replied in her domineering voice, she looked at him and then to the kitchen. Dom understood this and walked up to her wrapped his fingers around her wrist and then led her to the kitchen.  
  
"I see nothing's changed," Jesse smirked, "I'm bored stiff people. What we up to tonight, a bit of racing maybe." His eyes lit up in excitement.  
  
"Hah! I don't think so," laughed Mia.  
  
"Mia I've been stuck in a hospital for four weeks with nothing to do, I'm fed up. I need to do some driving," Mia gave him an "as if" look, "Okay then, at least to watch some driving, I need some livening up!" he pleaded with her.  
  
"No." interrupted Dom who had re-entered the room. Jesse shot him a desperate pleading look. "No means no Jesse end of story." Jesse cursed under his breath and flung himself onto the sofa. "Soon Jesse soon but not yet. Tonight we're gonna have a barbeque to celebrate you coming home."  
  
"Some together time," grunted Leon, he laughed and the rest followed suit. "Together time" was not the Toretto's style.  
  
"Well, if we're gonna have a barbeque, then we need some barbeque grub. Any one up for a trip to the store?" Vince asked them.  
  
"I am let me just grab some shoes," answered Mia as she made her way up the stairs.  
  
"I'm in but I'm driving." Replied Jesse. The whole team stopped still and looked at Jesse, "I'm joking!" grinned Jesse. Dom gave a sarcastic laugh at Jesse. "I need a fag, the way you lot just looked at me its enough to make anyone stressed," moaned Jesse. Leon gave him a playful hit over the back of the head. Letty smiled as she looked around the room, "this was the way things were supposed" to be she thought to herself.  
  
Mia came down the stairs she looked flustered and out of breath, "Couldn't find my shoe," she gave herself a little laugh. "Come on then Vince." She grabbed his arm and headed out the door. Dom glanced down to make sure Mia actually had both her shoes on before she left.  
  
"Wait! I'm gonna come," Letty called out to Mia and Vince, "Then I can drive and we wont have to wait all night for Mia." She added quietly to the others still in the room, she gave a quick kiss on Dom's cheek and followed Mia and Vince down the drive. He heard the sound of car doors slamming and then the sound of an engine.  
  
"Well guys I've gotta take care of a couple of things. I'll be back in about an hour, catch ya later." Leon walked out of the house.  
  
"So Dom, what you wanna do?" asked a fed-up Jesse.  
  
"Well Jesse I got some paper work to sort out for the store. But I got a job for you to do, I want you check out those guys that showed up at the race the other night. We got a name, a Ray Hoddle." Dom told Jesse.  
  
"Sure Dom, but you know that name probably aint real."  
  
"I know but he might have given the same name to someone else, see if he's turned up at any other races, but Jesse don't let on to any of the others." Jesse nodded in response, he knew not to ask why, Dom would tell him if he though he needed to know. 


	8. Falling

Chapter 8  
  
Three hours later and all the members of the Toretto household, except Leon were sitting at the garden table. In front of them was a delicious feast of, barbequed chicken, burgers, spare ribs, chips, and salads just waiting to be devoured.  
  
"I'll say grace," said Mia. All the team took each other's hands. "Dear God, um, thank you for brining Jesse back to us in one piece," she shot a smile at Jesse, "and of course not forgetting Vince. Help us to come together and start afresh. Also I'm sure the rest of the team would like me to ask you for parts for their cars they need," there were grunts from the others, "Yeah so um, Amen.". All the others gave an enthusiastic Amen.  
  
"Nice one Mia," Vince said from beside her. All of them proceeded in attacking the food. They spent the evening laughing and joking to each other between mouthfuls of food. Towards the end of the evening, Dom heard a car pull up at the front of the house, a car door slammed. Leon appeared out from the side of the house.  
  
"Hey Leon, where you been?" shouted Vince.  
  
"Just had some stuff to sort out. Sorry I didn't make it back in time," he said as he made his way over.  
  
"Never mind still plenty of grub left, pull up a chair and sit your sorry ass down." Dom told him.  
  
"Nah Dom, I'm a bit tired I'm just gonna go straight to bed." Replied Leon.  
  
"Anything wrong Leon," asked Letty.  
  
"Nah, like I said I'm just tired, " he grunted as he walked into the house letting the door slam on his way in. Dom didn't believe him he got the feeling for the second time today that someone wasn't telling him the truth.  
  
Later on that evening, Jesse, Dom and Mia were sitting on the front porch having some drinks. Vince and Letty had reluctantly agreed to the washing up since Mia wasn't feeling well. The topic of conversation drew round to the next race night.  
  
"We aint got any racers to drive, Vince can't drive and neither can you Jesse, not yet. So that just leaves me and Letty, we really need another racer, a good one," announced Dom. They grew silent, all three were thinking of the same person.  
  
"Dom man, you know he came to visit me in hospital," Jesse told him quietly.  
  
"Who?" asked Dom.  
  
"Brian," Jesse glanced upwards to see Dom's reaction. He stood up and banged his fists against the side of the house.  
  
"What! I told that loser to stay away from you lot!" he shouted, Letty and Vince heard and came out onto the porch, "I'm gonna sort him out, he should of stayed away like I fucking told him to!" he was infuriated.  
  
Mia suddenly clicked, "What you mean you've talked to him and you didn't tell me! What right have you to warn him of us.or me, you don't own me Dom, all this time you let me think he didn't care!" she screamed into his face. "Why can't."  
  
"MIA! Shut up!" Dom interrupted, shouting at her. She stopped and glared at him.  
  
"Dom, he's sorry man, he was just doing his job, I think he wants to come back, if." started Jesse.  
  
"Shut the fuck up as well Jesse! Are you turning on me, 'cause if you forget Brian is a fucking cop, he fucking lied about everything, nothing he said was true!" Dom interrupted again. Mia burst into tears, Dom realised why, she ran inside slamming the door shut behind her. There was an awkward silence.  
  
"I'm gonna go check on Mia," Letty said quietly and she walked inside.  
  
"Vince get in the car," Dom ordered, "we're gonna go sort out Brian." Jesse coughed.  
  
"Dom man wait, don't do this there gonna lock you up again. Mia needs you Dom, we all do." Jesse spluttered, but Dom ignored him as he walked down the driveway.  
  
"Vince you coming?!" he shouted it was more an order than a question, Vince looked at Dom he didn't want to go but he knew better than to say no, so he followed after him. Mia who had been listening from her bedroom window leaned out of it.  
  
"Dominic!" she screamed, "Please don't do this! Don't leave me, not again!" she continued. "Dom if you go, I'm not gonna be here when you get back!" she threatened in a last attempt to get him to stay. Dom thought about it, he knew better than to listen to empty threats from Mia and he certainly wasn't going to be ordered around by her. But the words "I need you" kept echoing around inside his head. He stopped just as he reached the car he couldn't risk going back to jail, not again but it was to late to go back on what he'd said, he did have to sort Brian out. He opened the car door, got in and started the engine he slammed his foot down on the accelerator and shot away down the road, leaving Vince still standing on the drive.  
  
There was a loud bang like something falling, Vince turned around and saw Jesse had collapsed to the floor. He ran as fast as he could back up the drive, Mia who realised what happened ran downstairs. Vince reached him first, he tried to shake him awake by yanking his arm. No response. He then tried shaking him violently. Still no response, he pulled Jesse so that his head was rested on his knees, Mia was sobbing behind him.  
  
"Letty, call an ambulance," Vince told her calmly. She stood still in shock, "LETTY! Call an ambulance!" he shouted at her. She moved inside and grabbed the phone; from the window she could see Jesse lying there in Vince's arms. "Its okay Jesse, your gonna be fine," sobbed Mia as she kneeled down and stroked his head, but all of them knew there was little chance Jesse could hear her.  
  
---Well that's it ppl hope u liked it a bit of a cliffhanger. That's kind of the end of the beginning and now we're going to get more into the thick of things, and find out a lot of interesting things ;- ) . I'll post probably again in the weekend sometime, thanks again 4 the reviews, I'm overwhelmed!----------------- 


	9. Choices

Chapter 9: Choices  
  
Dom kept on driving, he drove with an anger burning through his blood. He flashed through red lights dodging between cars and trucks, he didn't know where to drive to. He pulled over at the side of the road and slammed his fists against the dashboard. He wasn't angry that Brian had talked to Jesse, he was angry with himself. Thoughts flooded his mind, he couldn't figure out why he was angry at himself until he realised that he wanted Brian back as much as the others. "No Dom, remember what he did, remember who he is," he told himself. Now the anger towards Brian returned, he was angry that Brian made him feel this way and that Brian was making him choose, choose between what his brain was telling him and what his heart was telling him.  
  
He reached down between the seats and pulled out his phone, he glanced upwards, he had parked across from the police station. He punched in the numbers written across the signboard outside.  
  
"Hello, LA police department, how can I help," said a squeaky woman's voice.  
  
"I'd like to speak to officer Brian O'Connor," Dom tensed as he said the word officer.  
  
"Okay, please hold I'll just see if he's here," the line when quiet. Dom fiddled with the steering wheel. "Yes, officer Brian O'Connor speaking," Brian's voice flowed out of the phone. Dom didn't reply, "Hello?" Brian said again.  
  
"I'm outside, opposite the station in the orange Toyota, I'm sure you remember the one. Be out here in 5 minutes." Dom told him firmly.  
  
"Dom, that you?" no answer, but Brian knew it was, "Look man I'm working, I can't just walk out." The line went dead. Brian put the phone down and walked over to the window, he peered through he blinds, and sure enough he saw the orange Toyota parked opposite the station. "No," he thought to himself. He sat back down at the desk he was sitting at and carried on doing his paperwork.  
  
Dom drummed his fingers on the dashboard, he checked his rear view mirror again, no sign of Brian. He looked at his watch, "1 minute Brian," he said to himself.  
  
Brian looked around his boss entered the room he walked towards Brian's desk and dumped another load of paperwork on his desk and then went back to his office. Brian glanced at his watch, "Bout another 30 seconds," he thought to himself, "Ah fuck it!" he mumbled aloud. He got up from his desk and sprinted towards the door.  
  
Dom sat in the car, he was growing increasingly impatient, maybe he had got Brian wrong. He started up the car. He glimpsed towards his rear-view mirror for one last check, he shook his head, Brian wasn't coming. Just as he looked away he saw the front door open and Brian came out, he jogged across the road and opened the passenger door and sat in. Neither said anything.  
  
They drove for a solid 10 minutes in silence, they were heading further and further out of the city until Dom pulled in at an abandoned warehouse. It was pitch black, the only light came from Dom's headlights. The place was deserted, Brian began to feel uneasy, "what if this is a trap?" he thought to himself. He began to feel a bit stupid for getting into the car with Dom alone.  
  
They stopped behind the building, Dom switched off the engine. "Get out," he ordered to Brian. Both got out of the car, Dom walked over towards the building and Brian followed. Dom turned to Brian and without warning swung his fist into the side of his face. Brian tried to react but was too slow, and although he managed to slide a punch into Dom's face it wasn't enough to stop him, Dom raised his knee up and slammed it into Brian's stomach. Brian moaned in pain and fell to his knees, he grasped his stomach tightly.  
  
"That's for going to see Jesse when I told you not to!" Dom shouted at Brian who was at his feet. Blood trickled from Brian's mouth, Dom stuck out his hand and Brian flinched. "I'm not gonna hit you again," Dom said to him, "I didn't come here to fight." Brian gave a sarcastic short laugh. "I'm here to tell you that if you want to come back you gotta give up your job, you have to choose between your job and us." Dom said with no emotion.  
  
"So if I give up my job I can come back?" asked Brian, pressing his shirt to his lip trying to stop the bleeding.  
  
"I dunno yet, but I know if you're still a cop I can't have you near my family." Dom answered. Dom walked back towards his car and got in and started the engine. Brian walked towards the passenger side and tried to open the door but it was locked. He banged on the window, "Dom open the door," he peered in and Dom looked at him and just smiled. He hit the accelerator and drove away leaving Brian in a cloud of dust. Brian laughed to himself, Dom had begun to forgiven him and for the first time in over a month had looked at him without hate in his eyes. "He does realise I'm gonna want my car back," Brian said aloud to himself and carried on smiling. 


	10. Phone calls

Chapter 10 : Phone calls  
  
It was morning in the Toretto household. Mia sat at the table in the kitchen her head in buried in her arms. She looked a mess, her hair was pushed in every direction, tearstains ran down her cheeks and her eyes were all puffy. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs, she looked through the kitchen door and saw Leon putting on his coat.  
  
"Leon, where you going?" she quietly called to him.  
  
"Mia that you? What you doing up this early?" he walked into the kitchen. Mia got up and hugged him, she grasped him tightly and began crying.  
  
"I couldn't sleep," she sobbed into his shoulder.  
  
"Ah Mia you heard the doctor, Jesse's gonna be okay, he's just gotta take it more easy." Leon told her.  
  
"I know, but it was so close Leon, he stopped breathing, what if the ambulance hadn't got here in time. If only I hadn't started crying and upsetting everyone." she carried on sobbing.  
  
"Mia, it aint you're fault, and stop worrying Jesse's in safe hands." Leon told her sympathetically.  
  
"Thanks Leon," she stopped crying and looked up at him, "Where you going at this time? Please don't go I don't wanna be here on my own."  
  
"I have to go Mia, I'm sorry but I got some stuff to take care of," he ungrasped her and walked towards the front door. Leaving Mia standing in the kitchen on her own.  
  
Letty and Vince were still at the hospital with Jesse, Mia and Leon were there to until Leon had taken Mia home against her will because she had been sick. Dom still hadn't returned from last nights take off, he had his mobile switched off and Mia was worried about him and what he might have done. Just then she heard an engine pull up in the drive. She ran to the front window, peered out and saw Dom's orange Toyota. Dom turned off the engine of the car walked into the house, he looked around and saw Mia standing in the kitchen doorway.  
  
"What happened to your face? What did you do Dom?!" she shouted at him.  
  
He brushed past her and walked up to the fridge, "go away Mia.". He wasn't in the mood to explain, he was tired, he had been driving around for the past few hours thinking. A bruise had appeared where Brian had managed to swipe a punch at him. He felt her eyes boreing into the back of his head.  
  
Mia starting sobbing again, she ran towards him and started slapping the back of his head. "Mia, what the fuck you doin'?" he turned around, she kept hitting him on the chest and head, she was cursing at him which she didn't rarely do. Mia hit as hard as she could but wasn't really hurting him, he was too strong. He grasped her arms and pushed her back, "Mia STOP IT!" he shouted at her. But she kept trying to hit him, "You STUPID FUCKING MORON!" she yelled at him.  
  
"Mia I didn't fight him, I just hit him once okay?" he told her trying to reason with her. But this seemed to make her angrier, she gave another hard slap to his face. Dom was beginning to get annoyed.  
  
"THAT'S ENOUGH MIA!" he shouted at her and pinned her arms against the kitchen cupboards. "Calm down, I barely touched him."  
  
"You have no fucking idea Dom! Your stupid macho crusade has put Jesse in hospital! He nearly died! All because of you!" she yelled into his face.  
  
"What are you talking about, Jesse's out of hospital." He released his grip on her wrists.  
  
"No, last night after you left Dom, he collapsed, the doctor said it was due to stress on the heart, caused by you Dom! He stopped breathing, we had to call an ambulance." She started sobbing again. She fell into Dom's arms. He gripped her tightly, and stroked her hair.  
  
"I'm so sorry Mia, I really am, is he gonna be okay?" he asked her quietly.  
  
"Yeah he's gonna be fine, I'm sick of all this Dom I just want things to go back to the way they were," she forgave him quickly like she always did. "I rang Letty, she said Jesse's well enough to come home today. The doctors wanted him to stay another night just to be sure, but Jesse was adamant he didn't want to, you know Jesse, can't sit still for two seconds." She gave a muffled laugh into Dom's shoulder. Dom laughed as well.  
  
"Come on lets go down to the hospital to pick him up," Dom ushered her towards the door.  
  
"No Dom, I look a mess let me go wash first," said Mia, Dom sighed, "I'll be quick," she rushed up the stairs. The phone rang, Dom walked over and picked it up.  
  
"Is Leon there?" a gruff voice said.  
  
"Hold on," he placed the phone on the table, "MIA! Is Leon here?" he called up the stairs.  
  
"No! He went out 'bout 20 minutes ago!" she called back.  
  
He picked up the phone, "No, he's not here." Dom said into the phone.  
  
"What 'bout Letty?" The gruff voice asked. Dom was beginning to get suspicious.  
  
"No she ain't either, who is this?" Dom asked back.  
  
"You tell Leon that OJ needs to speak to him and soon," ordered the gruff voice.  
  
"What! Are you ordering me about?" Dom said back, getting angry. The line went dead. Mia came down the stairs, her face washed.  
  
"Who was that?" Mia asked.  
  
"No-one," Dom answered, "Come on lets go."  
  
"Wait I need to brush my hair," She grabbed the brush and headed towards the kitchen.  
  
"Mia! We're going," he walked over picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed, "Dom! Put me down," both laughed as he shut the front door and walked towards the car.  
  
-----Hey ppl, I'm sssooo happy with the reviews i'm getting, you lot put a smile on my face :-) by the way some one e-mailed me about anonymous reviews (northshorenative64) and I didn't know I had it so I couldn't get them, so I'm changing it now. No cliffhangers here I'm afraid, you may be wondering why I put Jesse back in hospital, but there is a reason, which you'll find out in the next chapter ;-) . It's taking a bit longer than expected to get into the main storylines, these two chapters were supposed to fit into one! Anyways I am getting there so hope you enjoy--------------- -------------------- 


	11. The Girl

Chapter 11; The Girl  
  
Dom pulled into a parking space close to the hospital entrance. He switched off the engine and got out of the car, Mia didn't move.  
  
"Mia come on get out of the car," he said to her.  
  
"I can't and you have to get back in." she called up to him.  
  
"What? Why?" he leaned in and looked at her.  
  
"Because you've parked in a disabled parking space, and Dom its not right, what if someone that really needs this space comes along, and they can't get it. Nope I'm not having it Dom so move the car." She grinned at him knowing she was being the annoying little sister she was.  
  
"Mia if we move we might have to go miles out to find another parking space, so just get out of the car." She didn't move but just sat there grinning at him. Dom stood there, he could just walk away and leave her sitting there, but he still felt bad about last night.  
  
"Ah Mia," he huffed as he sat back into the car.  
  
Ten minutes later, Dom had managed to find a space within moderate walking distance from the hospital much to the satisfaction of Mia. They walked into the hospital and Mia followed the directions Letty had given her on the phone. Jesse was on a different ward now, Mia walked in closely followed by Dom and saw Jesse in the bed closest to the door.  
  
"Hey Jesse, how you feeling?" Mia smiled at him.  
  
"Yep, good, just wanna get out of here you know." Jesse answered, he looked a lot better. He was sitting up and smiling. Letty and Vince were staring at Dom waiting for him to say something.  
  
"Look Jesse man, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have gone off like that, not with you being so ill." Dom apologized to him.  
  
"It's okay man, the doctor said it probably would have happened anyways, one of the stitches had come loose or something like that." Jesse told him.  
  
"Okay then, maybe you should stay another night, make sure your fully well and all that." Dom said to Jesse. He could feel all the team's eyes staring at him, he knew they wanted an explanation of what happened last night but he wasn't prepared to give it to them, they didn't need to know.  
  
"Nah Dom, I don't wanna stay another day, the doctors said it wouldn't make much of a difference," he pleaded to Dom.  
  
"Fine fine, when they say you can go?" Dom asked him.  
  
"The doc's gonna do his round and give me one last check over and then I'm good to go," Jesse told him with a smile on his face, he was looking forward to be going home.  
  
"Okay. Oh Letty you know someone called OJ?" Dom looked towards his girlfriend. She thought for a second, "No, no I don't think so, why?" she asked back.  
  
"Really 'cause he rang looking for you this morning." He shot her a look saying why-are-you-lying-to-me.  
  
"Oh, you know what I think I do know him, just forgot the name that's all." Letty said quickly, fiddling with the button on her trousers.  
  
"So who is he?" asked Dom, still giving her that look.  
  
"What the fuck has it got to do with you Dom, just drop it," Letty answered defensively. The others just stared at both of them.  
  
"Why are you being so bitch Letty, its my business if they are making threatening phone calls to the house," he told her, he knew "threatening" was a bit strong and not exactly true but it worked well on his argument.  
  
"Fuck off Dom," she spat at him, she turned and stormed out of the ward, the doors slamming shut behind her. Dom looked back at the others, they avoided his glances.  
  
"I'm gonna be waiting in my car, Mia you know where its parked. Vince you can bring down Jesse when you're done." Vince nodded in response and Dom got up and left the ward. He walked down the deserted corridor. Why was Letty keeping things from him, it made him feel uncomfortable. He put his hand in his pocket and felt around for his car keys, he pulled them out and fiddled with them. He contemplated on whether or not to confront Leon about the phone call. His car keys slid out of his hands and onto to the polished floor. Dom bent down to pick them, something crashed into him causing him to stumble backwards.  
  
"What the fuck?" he looked up and saw a girl of about fifteen fall to the floor, she wore a hospital gown. "You alright?" Dom asked her, he lent forward and grasped her arms and tried to lift her up. She wriggled free and pushed her way back up against the wall, she pulled back her hair and looked at Dom.  
  
"You!" said Dom, "You're the girl from the race night, aren't you?" he asked, but he didn't really need an answer, he knew it was her. She looked in a bad state, she had bruises on both sides of her face. She panicked; she jumped up and began to run down the corridor away from him. Dom followed her although he didn't need to run, she obviously wasn't well and couldn't run properly. He reached her and put his arm around her waist to stop her from moving any further.  
  
"Hey girl why you running, I ain't gonna hurt you," Dom said gently into her ear. She stopped struggling as much. "What's your name?" he asked but she didn't answer. "Who did this to you? Was it that guy who was with you?" he felt her tense up.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, you're hurting my stomach, let go," she quietly pleaded to him. She kicked him into the shin, but he didn't even flinch.  
  
"Don't play games with me girl, I know its you." Dom said to her, loosening his grip. She leaned her head back and looked at him her eyes meeting his.  
  
"If you don't let go of me I'm gonna scream," she said back to him. He let go of her waist and she started walking away.  
  
"Look, maybe I can help or something," he called out to her.  
  
"I don't need any help," she said with her back still facing him. She carried on walking and disappeared around the corner. Dom headed towards the stairs, he didn't need this right now and he wasn't getting involved. But he felt guilty, the girl obviously needed help. "I'll wait and see what Jesse finds out first," he thought to himself and he put the girl to the back of his mind.  
  
He had waited over half an hour for Jesse and the others. He sat in the sun- baked car listening to the radio. From where he was parked he had perfect vision of the hospital entrance. He looked down at his watch and then up at the doors, a black jeep pulled up with tinted out windows, blocking half of his view to the entrance.  
  
"Fucking morons," he said in frustration. He watched as a guy jumped out of the passenger seat and opened up the side door. Dom peered harder and saw the girl from the race night coming out still dressed in a hospital gown. Ray was with her, had a firm grip on her arm as if he was guiding her into the jeep, he kept looking over his shoulder back into the hospital. "He's looking for security guards, he's not supposed to be taking her," Dom collaborated in his head. He thought about going over, but he would be by far out numbered and by the time he reached they'd probably be long gone.  
  
"I need a pen," he thought out-loud he pulled open the dash board and searched frantically for one, "come on, where is one!" he found an old black BIC biro and scribbled down the number plate onto the back of his hand, "I'm sure Jesse will get something with this and then we can find out who you really are Mr Hoddle," Dom said aloud quietly, empathising the words "Mr Hoddle".  
  
The Jeep pulled away from the hospital leaving the entrance way clear again. Dom rested back into his seat and waited for the others to come out. He saw Mia appear closely followed by Vince, Mia was pushing Jesse in a wheelchair. Dom started up his engine and drove over.  
  
"Took your time." Dom said to the others as he reached the entrance.  
  
"Yeah well most doctors are normally quiet busy, you know doing stupid things like saving lives." Mia said to him sarcastically. He didn't tell them about his encounter, Dom thought it was best not telling them, unless they needed to know and at the moment Jesse was the only one that did. They all got into the car, leaving the wheelchair with a porter. Dom drove home slowly, well not slowly- the legal limit, which was slow for Dom. He didn't need to put Jesse in any more danger.  
  
As they pulled into the drive Dom noticed Letty's car wasn't in the drive, neither was Leon's. He felt a stab of jealousy, that Leon was sharing something with Letty that he wasn't. "Stop being so childish Dom," he told himself. He turned of the engine and stepped out onto the concrete drive.  
  
"I see you've changed the locks," someone called out to him. Dom looked up onto the porch and saw Brian sitting on the top step.  
  
------There one nice long chapter for you all, I was determined to keep this to one chapter and not go over!! Thanks again for the reviews for the last two chapters (gigles2003, Eclipse17, Ginger, Di, Chikita-latina, and Micheal MM!). Any more reviews from readers are graciously received!! Hope everyone is having a good summer! ----------------------- 


	12. Returning

Chapter 12 : Returning  
  
Everybody stood in silence, looking at each other. Dom felt Vince tense up and move forward towards Brian, Dom stuck out his hand and pushed it again Vince's chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't Vince," Dom said sternly to him but quietly so that Brian couldn't hear. "What you doing here Brian," Dom shouted over to him.  
  
"I did what you asked Dom, I gave it up," Brian called back.  
  
"Mia take Jesse into the house," Dom said to her, she started to argue back but Dom cut her short, "Mia just do it!" he shouted to her but not taking his eyes of Brian. She put her arm around Jesse's waist and helped him up the porch steps past Brian. He looked at her but she avoided his glances.  
  
"I never told you that you could come back here Brian." Dom said to him as the door closed behind Mia.  
  
"I got nowhere else to go Dom, I'm officially jobless and skint," he told him as he sat back down on the steps.  
  
Dom gave a short laugh, "That's not my problem." Brian shook his head and tensly rubbed the back of his neck. Dom felt a stab of guilt, but quickly let it pass. He could tell this was a difficult thing for Brian to be doing, and almost felt sorry for him but then argued to himself that this was Brian's own fault not his.  
  
"Dom what do you want me to say?" Brian asked him, he was reaching desperation. He was in a bad situation, he had no money, no job, and nowhere to stay.  
  
"There's a room above the shop, it's empty at the moment you can stay there, but you gotta work you're ass off at the garage Brian." Dom told him without any emotion in his voice.  
  
"What!" shouted Vince, "Are you losing you're mind Dom, you remember what he did Dom!"  
  
"Shut up Vince, I remember what he did," Dom told him calmly back.  
  
"That makes no sense Dom," interrupted a female voice, no one had noticed Mia appear from the side of the house, "we can rent that room, it can help pay of some of the debts at the garage," she told him. Dom thought this over, the debts at the garage had built up while they were in Mexico, they couldn't risk spending the money they made from the heists in case the police caught on and used it as evidence. So while a substantially large amount of money sat in a bank account, debts were building up getting larger and larger. Mia was right they did need that money.  
  
"Fine, there's a spare room in the attic opposite Jesse's room, you can stay there. But that don't mean you're part of this team again." Dom told him, Vince opened his mind to argue, "Don't even start Vince." Dom said before he could. Vince walked up the steps brushing past Brian's arm, purposely leaning in causing Brian to stumble backwards slightly, they all grinned including Brian. Both Dom and Vince went into the house, leaving Mia and Brian outside alone.  
  
There was an awkward silence as both stood looking at each other. Brian's heart pounded harder and faster as he looked at Mia properly for the first time in over a month. She looked beautiful, without even trying. She was dressed in a baggy pair of pants with a loose top, her hair was tied back loosely in a ponytail. She fiddled with a ring on her finger twisting it round and round.  
  
"Um thanks for that," Brian said softly to her, as he moved down the porch steps and walked slowly towards her.  
  
"For what?" she shot back at him, he kept looking at her eyes but they weren't looking at him, they stared down at the ground in front of her.  
  
"For getting Dom to let me stay at the house," he answered. She gave a small sarcastic laugh.  
  
"Don't flatter yourself Brian, I didn't do it for you. Like I said to Dom there's no point wasting money, especially on you," Brian felt the anger in her voice. He stopped moving closer. She walked towards the house, still avoiding looking at him and as she walked past him he reached out and grabbed her arm.  
  
"Mia," he whispered into her ear. She looked up at him, no she looked into him, into his soul and heart, pulling at all the strings there was, and then ripped them out one by one.  
  
"No Brian, no" she said to him as she pulled away from him and ran up the steps to the front of the house, hiding the tears that brimmed around her eyes.  
  
* ----Okay well there it is, a bit of a short and soppy chapter but now that Brian's back I can focus more on the other parts of the story, and of course get some more action in. To all those who keep asking me what's going on with Leon and Letty, you'll find out soon enough, but I'm not going to spoil the story so keep guessing ;-) ! Thanks so so so much for the reviews, I get a smile on my face with each one I read! Anymore gratefully received! I'll update again soon as possible!------- 


	13. The Garage

Chapter 13 : The Garage  
  
It was breakfast time, flavoured scents of bacon and sausages drifted around the Toretto household. Dominic Torreto sat at the kitchen table fiddling with the tomato ketchup bottle. Mia stood by the cooker with a frying pan in her hand.  
  
"I'm gonna go open the garage today," he told her, "I'll bring the others with me. That ok?"  
  
"Mmm" she mumbled back.  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yes Dom I'm sure," she snapped back.  
  
"Okay Mia no need to snap I was just asking," he growled back at her.  
  
"Oh whatever Dom, you know what I've better things to do than cook you lot breakfast, so cook it yourself," she shouted at him. She stormed out of the kitchen and grabbed her jacket of the coat hook.  
  
"Mia!" Dom called after her, "Mia!" he shouted a bit louder, but Mia didn't care she slammed shut the front door behind her. Dom shook his head, and smelt something burning. The sausages began to hiss loudly, Dom pushed himself up and took the frying pan. "Vince, Jesse, Brian, breakfast!" he shouted, he felt like a father calling his children.  
  
One by one each of them sat at the table, Dom tossed blackened sausages and burnt bacon onto their plates. "You know what Dom, I think we should leave the cooking to Mia. No offence man but she just adds that women's touch to it, then again I'm sure Brian's touch would come quite close," Vince said with a mouthful of food.  
  
"Shut up Vince," Dom growled back, "Hurry up and eat guys we're gonna open up the garage this morning."  
  
"Um is Leon or Letty home?" asked Jesse between chewing.  
  
"No, neither came home last night" Dom got up from the table, "I'll be waiting outside." He walked out of the room and left the house. As soon as he left Vince stopped eating and just stared at Brian. Brian tried to ignore him and kept eating, but Vince kept staring and began tapping his fingers on the table.  
  
"What?" Brian shouted at him losing his temper.  
  
"Guess," Vince quietly answered to him, still staring and tapping.  
  
"You know what Vince, just fucking tell me exactly what you're problem is," Brian spat back at him.  
  
"You mean I have to tell you, what Brian to thick to remember what you did." Vince stood up.  
  
"Yeah 'cause we both no that this ain't got shit all to do with me being a cop, its about the fact that Mia choose me over you," Brian shouted back also standing up, Jesse sat at the table watching amusedly as they both traded insults across at each other.  
  
"Yeah well, who you think she trusts more now Brian, me or you?" Vince shouted back. Vince had hit a sore spot; Brian couldn't say anything in return. He shoved his chair back and walked out of the front door to Dom, letting it slam behind him.  
  
Vince sat back down at the table and carried on eating, he looked up to see Jesse grinning at him. "What are you grinning at, pass me the ketchup."  
  
*  
  
All four travelled in Dom's car to the garage. He was the only one with a car, and that could drive. All of them remembered the journey perfectly, which houses went where, what traffic lights took the longest. As they pulled up to the garage, an empty silence filled them, emotions ran high. None of them had been to the garage in a long time, it brought back memories of the good and bad. Dom cut the engine, nobody moved from the car but instead just sat staring.  
  
Dom let out a sigh, "Come on guys." Dom walked up to he shutters and undid the padlock. He pushed them open revealing the inside of the garage.  
  
"Welcome home boys!" Dom sad with a grin, it looked the exact same even after all this time, after all that had happened, as though it had been frozen in time. Everything still lay as it had two months ago, spanners lay on the floor where someone had left them while working on a car, an empty crisp packet lay on the side desk as if someone had just ate them.  
  
One by one they walked slowly into the garage. Jesse limped in and sat down on a chair. Vince crossed his arms and just peered around. Brian leant on a table and fiddled with some loose bolts. Dom walked around, checking that everything was still where it should be. It all was there in the same places, although dust had accumulated on most things. He paused for a moment wondering whether Jesse should be in a place with all this dust, but then decided if he saw Jesse cough he'd take him home.  
  
"Come on guys plenty of stuff to be getting on with, Jesse you wanna use the computer and do that search I asked you about a couple of days ago?" Jesse nodded on response to Dom, "Good. Vince, do me a favour give my car a run through, then we'll do yours and Jesse's. Brian you can tidy up a bit and help Vince."  
  
Brian expected nothing less than getting dumped with all the bad jobs, the team weren't exactly welcoming him back with open arms, but he knew it was nothing more than he deserved. Vince waited expecting Brian to argue back but instead Brian turned around and started sorting out some boxes.  
  
"As for me I'm going to ring 'round see if I can drum up a bit of business," Dom told them as he went into the back room.  
  
All four worked hard on into the evening, the light from outside got darker and darker. They all kept themselves occupied doing all sorts of odd jobs. Dom rarely left the back room, and Jesse eyes hardly ever left the screen. Jesse searched all sorts of things for any clues about the mystery Ray Hoddle, he searched everything from police files to underground racing websites. He had some success with the registration number, and found it was registered to a Mr Raymond Johnson, Jesse assumed that this was Ray's real name, and focused on doing searches using that name.  
  
As the evening grew later, Dom became ever more impatient. He kept ringing the house phone but there was no reply. He wanted to know where Leon and Letty were, they had been gone for a long time now and he wanted to ask them further about who OJ was. He knew Letty was hiding something back at the hospital and wanted to know what. He glanced through the doorway and saw the others sitting around. Vince and Brian had kept arguing with each other all day but Dom just let them get on with it and hoped they'd soon get tired of it. They now sat at opposite ends of the room in silence, Jesse carried on typing away at the computer.  
  
Dom pushed himself up and walked over to where Jesse was, "How's it going Jesse?"  
  
"Good, I've done some searches using that Raymond Johnson name and ummm the results were good" Jesse told him keeping his voice low so the others couldn't hear.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, they have turned up at a couple of places and they have usually won and well also the um," Jesse paused loosing his line of thought, "the um man, well I found out something really interesting 'bout him you see he."  
  
The phone rang from the office cutting Jesse off, "Two sec's Jesse," Dom said to him as he made his way over to the phone.  
  
"Hello," Dom said into the receiver.  
  
"Um Dom, I'm in a bit a trouble and I kinda need your help." Letty's voice spoke quickly into the receiver. Dom heard the panic in her voice.  
  
"What is it Letty?" he asked  
  
"Dom I've been arrested, I'm in jail." The voice replied.  
  
-----Hi people thanks for the reviews of the last chapter they were really encouraging, I should hopefully post the next chapter tomorrow or the day after, depending on some things. Please keep the reviews coming, so I know there are still people interesting in my story!! Thanks bye!--------------- 


	14. A Secret Shared

Chapter 14: A Secret Shared.  
  
"What! What for?" Dom said into the phone, the others in the garage looked up.  
  
"I'll tell ya later, could you just come down and get me?" the voice asked him.  
  
"Fine Letty, but then I want a full explanation. Where are you?"  
  
"In the station were Brian works, I gotta go, I'll talk to you soon." The phone went dead. Dom replaced the handset and looked over at the others.  
  
"Well?" Vince asked him.  
  
"It's Letty, she's in jail," the shocked expressions on their faces said it all, "I dunno why, I'm gonna go and get her now."  
  
"I'll come as well, I might be able to help," Brian suggested. Dom nodded and headed towards his car.  
  
"Vince ring Mia and tell her to come pick you two up." He called to them before starting up the engine.  
  
Brian and Dom road in silence to the police station. Dom seemed very tense, he desperately wanted to know why Letty had been arrested. He contemplated various things ranging from minor to major, "she probably just got caught speeding," Dom told himself.  
  
They pulled up to the station, and Dom parked in the same place he had a few nights ago. As Brian walked into the station he felt strange, normally he wouldn't use this entrance and would be on his way to work but now he used the front door just like any other member of the public and to top it all off he was coming to bail out someone who he'd normally be arresting.  
  
"Um, I'm here to get my girlfriend Letty Rodriguez." Dom said to the receptionist.  
  
"Ok hold on for a minute," she replied and walked away to a computer. The receptionist returned and escorted Brian and Dom down a corridor, to a seating area. Dom and Brian sat in an awkward silence. A female officer entered the room and Brian smiled at her.  
  
"Alright O'Connor, how you doing?" the officer said to him.  
  
"Hey Sarah. I'm not to bad thanks," Brian said back to her.  
  
"That's good, I gotta go I'm on shift. Give me a call some time and we can catch up," the officer nodded to him.  
  
"Will do Sarah, will do," he told her as she walked away.  
  
Dom and Brian sat on the plastic chairs for another few minutes until two officers entered the room escorting Letty. Dom jumped up, he walked towards Letty and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Her arms were still in handcuffs behind her back. Dom stepped back and took her face gently in his hand and tilted it up to his.  
  
"What happened Letty? Why they arrest you?" Dom said to her.  
  
"Look Dom, before you get pissed wait until we get home and then I'll explain it properly to you okay, it's not what you think." She whispered to him so the officers couldn't hear, "I was arrested for possession of drugs and intent to supply."  
  
"Drugs! Tell me your joking right," Dom shouted loosing his temper. He couldn't understand why Letty had been arrested for drugs, yes the Toretto's may be lawbreakers but they didn't mess with drugs, none of them were stupid enough to.  
  
"Dom please I'll tell you about it when I get home okay, not now. Just get me out of here please." She whispered to him.  
  
"Fine, but Letty you got some serious explaining to do," he told her sternly.  
  
*  
  
Dom signed some papers to release Letty on bail, she was due in court in a couple of weeks. They didn't talk in the car, Dom was extremely angry he kept sighing and swearing loudly whenever they got caught behind a slow car. When they pulled up in the driveway they all got out and Letty quickly walked up the steps of the house, she wanted to avoid a confrontation on the lawn. Dom quickly followed her, followed closely by Brian. Leon, Vince, Jesse and Mia were already in the living room.  
  
"Well Letty, explain," Dom hollered at her.  
  
"Don't fucking order me about Dom!" she spat back. Her eyes shot around the room and landed on Leon, Dom noticed.  
  
"I get it, this is something to do with that OJ guy, hasn't it!" He shouted.  
  
"You say OJ? Leon how does Dom know about him, what's goin' on?" Jesse said entering the conversation, his face now a pale white.  
  
"Look Jesse don't worry man, okay? Its nothing really," Leon said quietly to him.  
  
"Nothing! What the fuck do you mean nothing, Letty could go down for years!" shouted Dom.  
  
"What for?" Mia said anxiously.  
  
"Possession of crack cocaine and intent to supply," Letty said quietly. Mia's mouth dropped and the whole room went quiet for a few seconds as everybody took in what she had said.  
  
"What were you doing with that stuff?" Vince asked her. Her eyes once again shot to Leon, Dom yet again noticed.  
  
"Leon, you better tell me who OJ is and now or I'm gonna get real angry and trust me Leon you do not want to get me that way." Dom told Leon sternly.  
  
"Ok," Leon took in a deep breath, "OJ is my older brother Oscar, an evil fucker. Me and Jesse stayed with him when we were younger, before we met you guys. And well it weren't a particularly easy time. But anyways he got arrested a couple years back, and has been in jail until two weeks ago." Leon told them all quietly.  
  
"He's out? Wait, when we were in the hospital Dom said something 'bout him, why didn't I click on you meant that OJ." Jesse said burying his head into his hands.  
  
"Yeah Jesse he's out but he ain't gonna come near you," Leon told him.  
  
"Whatever man, whatever," Jesse mumbled, he got up and limped slowly but swiftly up the stairs. The rest of the team just stood by watching.  
  
"What's the matter with Jesse?" Mia asked.  
  
"Well like I said, we stayed with OJ for a while. He wasn't the most sociable of guys, and he used to beat the crap out of Jesse. I tried to stop him but he was a lot bigger than either of us, that's why we left in the end," Leon said quietly. Dom pictured when he met Leon and Jesse for the first time, Jesse was so nervous around anyone and it took him a long time to trust the team. Quietness filled the room.  
  
"I still don't get what this has to do with Letty or the drugs," Dom stated.  
  
"Well when me and Jesse stayed with him, he got us to do some stuff to earn money," said Leon.  
  
"What like street racing?" Mia asked.  
  
"Nah, I wish. More along the lines of car jacking, dealing drugs and shit. And well he's got some stuff on me and Jesse that if he hands to the right people could mean us being landed in a jail. To be straight with you I don't care if I end up in jail, I just don't want Jesse to," Leon said with a hint of anger in his voice.  
  
"Letty got involved by accident, he came to the house while you were out but Letty was here, and he fucking hit her the arsehole and then he started using her to, he said that if I did a couple of jobs for him he'd leave me alone. Well a couple turned into a few and then some more, I tried to get him to leave Letty alone, honest Dom I did but he wouldn't have it, and so we got to here. Letty was running drugs for him." Leon explained.  
  
"So why did neither of you tell me?" Dom questioned.  
  
"'Coz we thought we could handle it and we didn't want Jesse to find out," Letty mumbled, "Look Dom there's no point thinking about what we shoulda or coulda done 'coz it's to late now."  
  
Everybody kept quiet for a while taking in everything that had been said. "Well I can probably sort Letty out on a lighter charge of just possession," Brian suggested.  
  
"Thanks Brian," Leon said quietly.  
  
"Meanwhile I'll think about how we're gonna sort out OJ," Dom said to them all.  
  
"He's gonna be pissed, I never delivered the drugs," Letty told Dom. Dom walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pushed back her hair.  
  
"We're gonna sort it Letty, I just wish you'd told me earlier," Dom whispered to her. She laid her head on his chest. Brian wished that was him with Mia, he glanced over to her and found she was already looking at him, but her eyes shot away quickly.  
  
"How 'bout some dinner guys?" Mia said in an attempt to break the ice in the room. It was met with an enthusiastic round of nods and grunts. Mia walked into the kitchen followed closely by Brian.  
  
"What you want Brian?" she asked him coldly.  
  
"You know what I want Mia, that's you." He told her, she let out a stifled laugh, "It don't have to be this way Mia."  
  
"I never want to be with you again Brian."  
  
"But Mia."  
  
"No Brian, its a no, its always gonna be a no. As far as I'm concerned you could disappear of the side of the earth and I wouldn't give a damn." He got the picture and left the kitchen.  
  
*  
  
"I'm gonna go check Jesse," Dom said as he walked up the stairs. He went up into the attic and knocked on one of the doors. "Jesse, I'm coming in," Dom spoke to the door. He pushed it open and saw Jesse sitting on the edge of the bed.  
  
"You okay," Dom asked.  
  
"Yep, I'm fine." Jesse answered, but Dom had a suspicion that he was just saying that to act hard. Dom stood awkwardly at the door.  
  
"Okay, but just so you know he isn't gonna hurt you no more Jesse, coz I ain't gonna let him," Dom told him with determination in his voice.  
  
"Thanks man," Jesse mumbled.  
  
"Come on, Mia's cooking up something to eat." Dom motioned to the door.  
  
"Are you helping, coz if you are I think I'm safer staying up here judging by that breakfast this morning," Jesse joked.  
  
"Very funny Einstein," Dom said, playfully tapping him on the back of the head as hey headed out of the room. 


	15. I Love You

Chapter 15; I Love You.  
  
Everyone of the Toretto team were in the garage except for Mia and Dom who had gone out to get some desperately needed parts from the Racers Edge. All of them were working on their various cars, which had been deprived of any major work for over a month. Dom and Mia were heading back from the Racers Edge with a small truckload of equipment they had just purchased.  
  
"Mia there anything wrong? You seem too quiet," Dom asked Mia in the truck.  
  
"No," she answered, Dom raised his eyebrows at her, "Its nothing Dom I'm just worried about Letty, Jesse and Leon," she sighed.  
  
"Really, that all?" he questioned further, "Tell me the truth Mia, because all I've heard in the past few days are lies."  
  
"Okay. well Dom I think I." she paused, "I think I might be pregnant," she blurted out quickly. Dom jerked his head in shock causing the car to serve, "Dom! Watch the road."  
  
"Pregnant? Well is it Brian's?" he questioned in shock.  
  
"Yeah it's Brian's that's the worst part, but I mean I haven't seen a doctor or anything, I just done one of those tests you buy out of the store," she said quietly.  
  
"Well Mia the tests are pretty accurate," he told her empathetically, "But you still need to see the doctor."  
  
"I know but if I see the doctor and he says I'm pregnant then I .I can't." she stumbled looking for the right words.  
  
"Can't kid yourself that your not," Dom finished the sentence for her. She nodded her head.  
  
"Please don't tell the others, not yet till I've found out for sure, especially not Brian," she pleaded to him, he heard the anger in her voice when she talked about Brian.  
  
"I wont Mia," she glanced at him nervously, "I swear I wont Mia." The car went quiet for a few minutes.  
  
"Do u love him Mia?" Dom asked, she knew instantly who he meant. She didn't reply but kept in silence. He looked at her and raised his eyebrows.  
  
"No," she said but he heard the wobble in her voice, he looked at her with raised eyebrows yet again, "I think I don't but I .I dunno."  
  
"Forget about everything Mia, about all the shit that's happened and about what you think you should feel, but in your heart do u love him?" he interrupted.  
  
"Yes I do," Mia said quietly tears streaming down he face.  
  
"Then Mia you need to tell him that," he told her sympathetically, "I know he's done so much wrong Mia, but he's done some good stuff to, he's a good guy Mia."  
  
"I know but." she started.  
  
"No Mia no buts, you love him forget about everyone else and think of yourself for a change," Dom said to her thoughtfully.  
  
Dom pulled over the car and leant over in his seat and wrapped his arms around Mia's shoulders, "Oh Dom," she sobbed, Mia started crying harder, the stress of the past few weeks all came out as she cried gently into his shoulders. "I just wish everything would be normal again," she cried softly.  
  
"I know Mia, I know," he stroked the back of her head. He let her sit there and cry for a while until she felt ready to stop. When she did finally sit up her eyes were puffy and red.  
  
"Feel any better?" Dom asked her.  
  
"Yeah tons," she half laughed and half sniffled. " Thanks big brother," she smiled.  
  
"Any time lil' sis" he smiled back as he started up the engine.  
  
"Um could we not tell the others about this um..." she paused thinking of the right word, "episode."  
  
"Sure Mia but you need to talk to Brian," he told her, "anyways I couldn't tell the team, this kind of thing could ruin my tough reputation" he jokily added lightening the mood. She laughed as Dom pulled back out into the main road and headed for the garage.  
  
As they got closer to the garage Dom heard the sound of fire trucks coming up by his rear, he pulled sideways to let them pass.  
  
"Wonder where they're going?" Mia thought aloud.  
  
They drove behind the trucks, which pulled onto the same road of the garage; several trucks already littered the road.  
  
"Oh my God Dom! It's the garage!" Mia shouted. Dom pushed his foot harder down on the accelerator and raced towards the garage. He stopped suddenly and they both jumped out of the car. Black smoke smothered them, but through it Dom could see Leon and Vince trying to push past some firemen and get into the building. Firemen on either side of them were unravelling hoses. Letty came running up to the two of them.  
  
"Where's Brian, and Jesse, where are they?" a paniced Mia shouted to Letty.  
  
"We were all in the garage and something came flying through the window and caused the garage to catch alight, it spread so quick and Brian went to get Jesse from the back room and the flames they just closed in behind him and he couldn't get back." Letty shouted quickly.  
  
"What!" Mia screamed as she ran towards the building, Vince saw her and grabbed her around the waist. She twisted and kicked, "Brian!" she shouted.  
  
"Mia you can't get in that way!" Vince shouted at her trying to make her see sense. Dom and Letty were also struggling to keep Leon back. Mia broke into hysterics, "Brian," she screamed over and over, she collapsed into sobs in Vince's arms, "Brian I love you," she sobbed but only quietly into Vince's arms. She cried hysterically as the flames licked and curled up the outside of the building.  
  
Across the road a young girl stood watching, her body hidden by the side of another building.  
  
---------Two longish chapters for you! Thanks all so much for all the encouraging reviews you gave me! (I'll give you all a shout out in the nxt chapter) I'm going away for a week (not on holiday just away) and I don't think I'll be able to post before hand, but I'll try. If I don't it'll probably be two weeks before I'm able to post again, but I'll like I said I'll aim for as soon as possible. So what do you think of these two chapters? Reviews please!  
  
Thanks loads, Lisa xxx------- 


	16. Getting Out

Chapter 16; Getting out.  
  
"Brian, what we gonna do man!" Jesse shouted in panic. Him and Brian both stood in the small back room office, black smoke crept into the room from under the small crack in the door. The noise of exploding spray cans, collapsing units, and fire engines made the room deafening.  
  
"Don't worry Jesse we're going to get out," Brian lied, but Jesse could see the fear on his face.  
  
"Brian this is a garage the whole thing could explode at any minute," Jesse stammered.  
  
"No it's ok, 'coz Dom only made orders for petrol, gas and that today, so there's none in the garage," Brian shouted quickly. Jesse sat down and put his head in his hands. Brian walked up to the small window to the back, he smashed the glass but it was no use, bars lined the outside.  
  
"HELP!!! HEY WE'RE IN HERE!" Brian shouted out the window, using all the air in his lungs. Behind him Jesse started coughing. Brian tore of his shirt and attempted to cover up the crack under the door, he could feel the heat on his knuckles.  
  
"Jesse man, you alright?" Brian shouted to him, Jesse nodded a yes in response. "We've got to find a way to get these bars off the window," he added, knowing the fire was growing steadily closer. He glanced around and saw a spanner on the floor.  
  
He picked it up and began to try and loosen the bars, the window was fairly old and the bars had become loose over time. Jesse came up and scratched away at the crumbling concrete holding the bars, they managed to break away their first bar. "That's it, keep going!" Brian motioned to Jesse.  
  
The fire outside grew ever closer, the room grew steadily more hot and smoky. They kept pulling the bars off one by one, until there was only one left. The oxygen in the room was becoming thinner and both men were finding it increasingly difficult to breath. As Brian glanced at the door he saw the stuffed shirt catch light. He hit madly at the last bar until it finally came loose.  
  
"Come on Jesse step on my hand," Brian shouted at him over the noise of the fire.  
  
"Brian, the gap, its too small," Jesse stammered back. But Brian already knew this, he noticed it from the beginning, he hoped that because of Jesse's small size he would be able to fit through but he knew all along that he himself would be too big.  
  
"Jesse, you'll be able to squeeze through, just go," he shouted at him.  
  
"Nah man, I'm not going without you!" he shouted as the door was engulfed in flames, the air was became extremely difficult to breath in and both men started coughing. Brian grabbed the collar of Jesse's shirt and thrust him towards the window.  
  
"Look man, you're no good to me here, just go, do me a favour and tell Mia I love her, okay? You'll do that for me?" Brian shouted to him.  
  
Jesse tried desperately not to start crying knowing this could be the last time he saw Brian alive, "Okay man I will, I'm gonna get Dom to come and get you though okay man?" Jesse shouted as Brian boosted him up and he scrambled headfirst out the window. It was a tight squeeze but he managed to pull himself through. Parts of the old wall crumbled away as his jeans and tee-shirt brushed past. He landed hard on the concrete below, but pushed himself up and half-ran half-stumbled around the building, lots of smoke still smothered him but he found it much easier to breath.  
  
Brian collapsed onto the floor, he gasped frantically for some air but all he got was a mouthful of smoke. He became drowsy and he couldn't feel the heat as strongly as if it was getting further and further away. He couldn't move his body anymore and the vision in front of him became smaller and smaller.  
  
Jesse ran as fast as he could, he spotted Dom first, Jesse ran to him. He could hear Mia and Leon shout out his name but he just focused on getting to Dom. As Jesse reached Dom he gripped his arms for support, "Brian...stuck..the.the back room..help him Dom..help him." He mumbled, straining the last few words before he blacked out onto the floor.  
  
Brian's eyelids closed and then slowly opened, he saw Mia. They were both on a beach somewhere, it was empty and the sun was lowering, she laid in his arms on the sand, he leaned in over her face and moved his mouth towards hers, he closed his eyes, he could hear the waves crashing, feel Mia's softness and beauty as their lips connected, time itself froze, nothing else mattered but something was tugging him back, calling his name.  
  
"Brian!", he re-opened his eyes, the beach dissolved, as in front of him Dom appeared.  
  
"Dom?", he mumbled as he tried to breath in, but found he couldn't, he choked.  
  
"Brian we gotta go," Dom said as he grasped Brian under the arm and hoisted him up. Brian kept coughing, the hole where the window once now doubled in size, he saw the rubble on the floor, where someone had smashed it in.  
  
Dom supported much of Brian's weight, and lifted him outside through the whole he and Leon had made, Brian glanced backwards and saw the back room become engulfed in flames. The fresh oxygen stabbed his lungs and the back of his throat burned, he coughed hard and it made him feel dizzy. Brian felt a second person grab the other side of his body and carry him to the roadside away from the burning garage. As they laid him on the road, he was surrounded by a bunch of people, they were all unfocused in his vision. He still coughed, as he felt something being placed around his mouth. Slowly faces became clearer, one in particular. She kneeled beside his head, her cheeks lined with tear stains, but now she was smiling, he loved that smile. He closed his eyes with the image of Mia smiling still in his mind.  
  
Across the road the girl stood still. Confused, angry and upset by what she saw, she didn't dare to move in fear she was seen. She kept her body close to the building, hiding in its shadows. She watched the black smoke smother the building, she watched as the Toretto's stood still silently supporting each other. She clenched her teeth, as the wind blew and the cold air hit her skin, she needed a bath, something to eat and some clean clothes but right now all she wanted to do was hurt someone.  
  
*  
  
----------I'm sssooo sorry for two things, firstly I'm sorry for this chapter taking so long and secondly I'm for this chapter not being a particularly good chapter (cause I personally didn't like it very much), I found it really hard to write, but so you know there's a good couple of chapters coming up. Ummm again i'm really sorry this chapter took so long to get here!! But the next chapters won't take so long, I'm already nearly finished the write-up of the next one and so I should have it up in a couple days! Thanks sooo much for all the reviews and to all the reviewers, you lot make me sooo happy :-) . Any reviews for this chapter would be great but like I said I know it's not very good. Anyways thanks again for the reviews, sorry for the delay, and the next chapter should be here by Thursday!!---------------- 


	17. Being Scared

Chapter 17; Being scared  
  
Brian stared up at the hospital room ceiling, pulling together his thoughts. It had been 3 days since the fire, Jesse was kept in overnight but was well enough to return home the next day, Brian himself on the other hand, had suffered major smoke inhalation, Doctors said a few seconds longer and he wouldn't have made it out alive. But he had recovered fast and hoped he would be able to return home the next day, Brian smiled at the word home, since the fire the team had been much more accepting towards him. They seen his efforts for Jesse on the night of the fire as heroic but he was sure that any of the team would have done the same thing if in his situation. As a whole the fire had brought the team a lot closer  
  
The garage had been declared unsafe and was going to have to be bulldozed down and re-built, the insurance covered some of the cost but not all of it, and money was becoming a big issue. Brian was sure if Dom had hair he would be loosing it, he seemed stressed about all the debts piling up. Another issue was who had started the fire, on the top of everybody's list was Leon's brother, but there were plenty of other people who held grudges against the Toretto family, namely Tran's family. Brian figured that Dom was doing a little investigating of his own, but then so was Brian.  
  
Brian rolled over onto his side, his back facing the door. He had a room to himself and as it was night he had the lights turned out as he tried to sleep. He looked at the window, rain pelted the glass, the wind howled and there were flashes of lightening every so often illuminating the room. As he listened to the storm outside he heard the slight creak of his door opening and closing. It was a short creak, and he assumed it was a nurse just checking in. He continued lying still, watching the window.  
  
"Brian," he heard a faint whisper from the corner of the room by the door. He turned in his bed and squinted towards the door, he could make out a silhouette of a small figure by the door.  
  
"Hello?" Brian questioned rather than said. There was no reply. Another flash of lightening illuminated the room, and in the corner he saw a young girl standing near the wall, she was soaking wet, her brown hair plastered to her face and dripping on the floor. Her blue eyes stared at him, she had on a minimal amount of clothes and shivered in the cold. He noticed the old scars on the side of her face, aligned with fresh bruises to her cheekbones.  
  
"Lottie?" Brian said gently. She didn't say anything, but stood silently in the shadows. Brian coughed quietly, "Um, you wanna turn on the lights?"  
  
"No," she answered quickly, "Its okay."  
  
"Alright," he told her back calmly. There was an awkward pause. He leant forward and pushed back the sheet. "No, you don't have to get up," Lottie said quietly, "Look I probably shouldn't have come, I'm sorry I'll go," she said quickly as she grasped the door handle.  
  
"No, Lottie you don't have to go. Here," he picked up a towel and held in her direction, "you can use it to dry off."  
  
She hesitated, then let go of the handle and reached out and took the towel, she pressed it to her face gently and then to her arms. Brian sat quietly on the side of the bed, the rain the only thing piercing the silence.  
  
"You okay Lottie?" He asked softly. She obviously wasn't but he didn't see anyway else of phrasing it. She stayed quiet for a few moments thinking over this question.  
  
"No, I don't think I am," she said slowly.  
  
"Were you staying? You disappeared from the hospital."  
  
"I dunno." she paused, "Brian I'm scared." She slowly slid down into a sitting position, grasping her hands tightly around her knees. Brian got up and sat down beside her, he put his arm around her, she tensed up at first but then laid her head on his shoulder. "What of Lottie?" he whispered into her ear. She trembled in his arms, he tightened his grip around her small frame. "I.I..," she nodded her head.  
  
"S'ok just get some sleep," he said, as she leaned in tiredness into him. She closed her eyes and lay still in his arms. Both had questions to confront each other with but at the same time both knew now was not the time.  
  
Brian sat on the floor with Lottie for a while, before he picked her up and laid her on the bed. She was almost dry but felt cold, so he wrapped the blanket around her. He lay next to her but on top of the blanket and as he was drifting off to sleep he heard her voice, "Are you a cop Brian?" He paused, "I was but I'm not any more", it was a confusing statement, he expected her to ask more details but she simply replied, "Ok, I believe you."  
  
She aligned her body with his, her back against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her to give her some form of comfort and security, which he guessed she didn't get much of, she flinched at first but then relaxed. The both lay there with the sheet still between them. With her being so young he instinctively felt protective of her, but so many secrets surrounded her. He knew nothing of her past or even of her present, but then he guessed she knew nothing about him, so both were on even footing.  
  
------Hey guys and gurls, once again a major apology for this being so late. Again I found it quite hard to write this chapter, it was quite a non-eventful chapter but I had to get that bit in, but I have a couple of more action chappies coming up as well as some racing (which there hasn't been much of sorry!). And don't worry I have no intention of getting Lottie and Brian romantically involved! Thank you ssoooo much for the reviews of the last chapter, im soooooooo grateful for them!! I'll try and post again as soon as possible and it wont take as long as this, a week at the most! Any reviews for this chapter will be much appreciated.  
  
Thanks again for the reviews+sorry for the wait, Lisaxxx------------ 


	18. Early Morning Birds

Chapter 18; Early Morning Birds.  
  
*  
  
"What is that?" Letty said with laughter in her voice.  
  
"It's a ice cream van," stated Vince.  
  
"Yeah, I can see that, but what are you doing with it?"  
  
"See my cousin had it going cheap, you know when I see a good deal I gotta take it" Vince said trying to defend himself.  
  
"Vince, you wouldn't spot a good deal if it was attached to a brick an inch from your face," Letty answered with sarcasm, "What exactly are you gonna do with it?"  
  
"Well I'm gonna do it up," Vince said with a grin. Letty shook her head in despair and went back into the house.  
  
Jesse sat with Leon on the sofa, arguing over some game they were playing. "Jesse dawg, you're supposed to dodge the wall not drive into it", Leon joked.  
  
"Ah man, I'm still gonna win so shut up," Jesse said focusing intensively on the screen.  
  
"Hey Letty, you wanna play?" Leon said in between with a mouthful of chips, thrusting the control in her direction.  
  
Letty shook her head, "Naw, I'll think I'll let you two boys battle it out," she grinned and carried on walking through the house into the kitchen. Mia stood by the counter chopping up tomatoes. "Hey Mia," Letty said to her.  
  
"Oh hiya Letty," Mia said in her cheerful morning voice.  
  
"What you up to today?" Letty asked, while she took some plates out.  
  
"I gotta go and open the shop in about an hour and then I've got college in the afternoon." Mia answered as she took the frying pan off the cooker. Vince appeared at the back door, "Dom's back".  
  
The front door slammed shut, "What the fuck is that piece of crap on the driveway?" Dom's voice hollered. Letty threw a look at Vince, who smirked and then disappeared from the doorframe. Mia looked in puzzlement at Letty who just rolled her eyes.  
  
Dom walked into the kitchen and stood near the doorframe so that he could see into both the kitchen and front room. "Guys am I missing something?" he asked calmly as he leaned his hand in tension into the wall. Jesse opened his mouth to answer but Dom got there first, "Don't even thinking about saying something funny Einstein, I'm not in the mood." Jesse closed his mouth. "Okay guys, let me rephrase this for you, what are you guys doing?" Dom asked leaning harder into the wall.  
  
The rest of the team still looked confused about what Dom was talking about.  
  
"Dom is everything okay, because." started Letty.  
  
"No Letty, everything is not okay!" he shouted losing his temper. "I'm finding it really hard to understand why nobody seems to be doing anything except sitting around playing fucking video games!" he shouted, taking a deep breath afterwards. "If you hadn't noticed there is plenty of work needing to be done. But you lot are sitting around as if you're on holiday!"  
  
"Dom, we're waiting for breakfast man, chill," Letty told him calmly.  
  
"I'm not gonna going chill Letty!" Dom shouted slamming his fist on the wall, "what's it gonna take for you to see how much shit we are in, if we don't make some money soon we're gonna lose the house and the shop, then you lot can tell me to fucking chill," he finished in a temper. The whole team fell quiet, and the house was silent.  
  
"Dawg, we're just waitin' for breakfast and then we'll be gone," Leon told him quietly.  
  
Dom shook his head and made his way upstairs, just as he reached the top a loud noise erupted from outside the front of the house. "What the Fuck is that!" he yelled as a rhetorical question before he slammed shut his bedroom door.  
  
"Man! What is that noise?" Jesse said quietly to the others still downstairs.  
  
"It sounds like an," Leon paused, "out of tune ice-cream truck."  
  
Letty gave out a short laugh, and they turned around to look at her, "Don't ask, trust me guys you really don't wanna know," she told them.  
  
*  
  
Brian woke up, he felt the morning sun pulsating into the room and resting on him, he slowly opened his eyes as the room came into focus. He felt something under his arm, and he tilted his head to see what. Beneath his arm he saw a girl curled up asleep. He tried not to make any sudden movements, as he didn't want to wake her up, instead he gently lifted up his arm and slowly slid out of the bed.  
  
He moved slowly to the sink and washed his face, as he went to replace the facecloth, his sleeve caught the side of the toothbrush holder, and it came tumbling down into the sink creating a large noise.  
  
"Shit," Brian cursed under his breath, as he tried to catch it. He heard something stir from the other side of the room, he turned around to see Lottie waking up with a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"Mornin' Lottie," Brian said quietly to her with a reassuring smile. She looked instantly suspicious but Brian guessed that was her natural reaction to something new. She rubbed her eyes, and tried to block out the sun.  
  
"Uh, hey Brian," she mumbled nervously, she gave a small yawn. "I'll go now." she said as she swung her legs out of the bed.  
  
"No wait, don't go yet. give me a few minutes and I'll sign myself out and we can go get some proper breakfast," he suggested. She looked at him wearily, unsure of what to say. "Think of it this way, what have you got to lose? Anyways it's only breakfast," he told her as he slipped on some socks.  
  
"Uh okay." she said, still extremely nervous.  
  
"Good good, let's get a move on, I know somewhere were we can get a great home cooked breakfast," he said grinning.  
  
*  
  
---------Okay firstly massive apology for the third consecutive chapter for this being so late, but honestly, this time was sssooo not my fault, my computer crashed and it took ages to get back from the repair shop, so blame it on them!! Well anyways there's another chapter, what you think?? Reviews please!! Thank you so much for all the reviews of the last chapter, they were gratefully received! I've just finished the next chapter but I'll wait a few days before posting it ;-) ! Hmm let us think were'o'were could they be going or breakfast?? Okay so review, pretty please! Thanks, Lisax--- -- 


	19. Breakfast

Chapter 19 ; Breakfast  
  
A/N ---Wow girls and guys I'm still alive! Well here's another chapter for you all. I'm sorry it took so long, except this time I have no excuses, I just kinda got lazy, but hen a week or so ago out of he blue I got another review, and it encouraged me to continue, so here's the next chappie!------- ------  
  
"Guys breakfast is ready!" Mia hollered from the kitchen, as she picked up some serving plates and carried them out into the garden, "Oh and bring some plates and cutlery!" she added.  
  
She placed the plates onto the table, and turned around to see Leon and Jesse racing out the back doors, "Mmm grub, I'm starving!" Leon said enthusiastically. Letty walked out behind them, followed closely by Dom and then Vince came slowly out. They took their seats around the table, each looking longingly at the food.  
  
"Pass me a plate," Dom grumbled, of which none of them answered, "Look will someone pass me a plate," he added with a hint of aggression.  
  
"Dom I told you to grab a plate on the way out," Mia told him as she leaned over the table passing a cup to Letty.  
  
"Why didn't you just bring them out," he shouted at her, feeling extremely pissed off.  
  
"Oh God Dom, why didn't I bring them out, maybe because I spent the whole morning cooking breakfast for you while you've done nothing but moan, maybe because straight after this I have to go out and slave my arse off in a crappy store because you'll wanna go and play with your boys toys, and maybe because after that I'll have to go and spend the whole afternoon working away at school so I can get some sort of decent job, that doesn't rely on diesel!" she shouted, shocking the others into silence. None of them expected Mia to be the one that have an outburst, especially against Dom.  
  
Mia took a deep breath in, she'd always respected Dom, and his work. She'd never before criticised his lifestyle and although she had her worries about Dom racing, she'd never really had any problems with it, the team had fun and it paid the bills. "But that was before," Mia thought, things were changing, her priorities were changing. Inside of her was a new life, and through many sleepless nights she had come to the conclusion that she didn't want her child to grow up in the illegal world of street racing. No, she wanted the best for her child and it to grow up in a safe and normal environment. Therefore Mia figured, she was going to have to leave the team behind.  
  
"Look sorry, I didn't mean it, here take my plate," she apologized thrusting a plate hastily in his direction. But Dom still heard the anger in her voice, "Forget it, I'll get myself one," he said pushing himself up, and making his way towards the house. The rest of the team still sat in silence, each shooting glances in Mia's direction. Letty could see temper burning in Dom's eyes, she could see the tension in his face preventing him from arguing back.  
  
"Well eat then," he said impatiently to the others as he sat back down with his plate.  
  
"We not saying gra. . ." Jesse started.  
  
"No," Dom cut him off.  
  
They all started eating, Jesse talked to Letty about designs for some new cars for the team and Vince and Leon chatted away about some girls they had met in a bar a few days ago While Dom and Mia ate in silence.  
  
*  
  
Brian was sitting in the back of a cab, Lottie sitting quietly beside him. They drove towards the Toretto house from the hospital. Lottie glanced out of the window, attempting to figure out where they were heading. Brian still felt a bit rough, his head a bit groggy and his chest hurting slightly. But he looked forward to getting home.  
  
"You okay Lottie?" he asked her, noticing she looked a bit nervous. She simply nodded in return, re-treating into her quietness. Brian pushed no further and they rode the rest of the way in silence.  
  
They turned into the road, and Brian pointed out the house to the driver. As Lottie stepped out, Brian paid the driver. He then got out noticing no cars in the drive except for a large un-usual looking truck. Brian stood puzzled for a moment, and then heard some voices coming from the back yard. "Come on Lottie, we're a bit late," he said gesturing for her to follow.  
  
*  
  
The team sat at the table finishing of their food, Dom had said nothing to the team the whole way through breakfast, and Mia had hardly touched her food. The rest of the team kept talking away, making random jokes trying to lift the tension.  
  
". . . and he kept saying that the car wouldn't go that far. . ." Jesse was explaining, when suddenly Letty interrupted.  
  
"Brian!" She called out as Brian walked into the yard. The rest of the team glanced around.  
  
"Alrite guys, am I too late for breakfast?" He said with a smile.  
  
"No, no sit down," Leon said moving over.  
  
"Err wait I've got a guest with me," he said gesturing Lottie to come out of the side alley, and into the yard. Lottie hesitated for a moment before walking into the yard.  
  
Lottie and the team were both as shocked as each other to see who they saw. 


End file.
